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Brodeur skates but Hedberg will start for Devils

Wednesday, 03.13.2013 / 11:59 AM
| Dan Rosen
- NHL.com Senior Writer

NEWARK, N.J. -- Martin Brodeur (back) skated on his own for the second straight day, but New Jersey Devils coach Peter DeBoer said it's still too soon to determine when the injured goaltender will resume working out with the team. So Johan Hedberg will make his 10th consecutive start Wednesday night.

Hedberg hasn't started 10 games in a row since the 2001-02 season, when he started 10 straight for the Pittsburgh Penguins from Jan. 5-23.

"I feel good," Hedberg told NHL.com. "People always ask me before the year how many starts do you expect, and I say I don't expect anything. Anything that you do expect usually gets changed anyway. During the season, so many things happen so you have to be ready for whatever happens."

Hedberg will try to build on his performance from Sunday, when he made 23 saves in a 3-2 shootout win against the Winnipeg Jets. In his previous appearance, he was pulled after two periods at the Carolina Hurricanes, where he allowed five goals on 18 shots.

"As a goaltender it's a mental game," Hedberg said. "There were a few rough games and you try to fight your way back. I was in the right position [against the Jets]. I was feeling the puck the way I wanted to and reading the situations better. That's something I will try to carry with me."

If Hedberg can carry on, the Devils will have a better chance of taking one step closer to perhaps burying the Flyers, who are four points behind them in the Eastern Conference standings in 11th place. The Devils are seventh with 29 points and hold a game in hand over Philadelphia.

The teams also play Friday in Philadelphia. Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov went on record Tuesday saying his team would be "done" if it lost both games of this home-and-home.

"We need points too," Devils defenseman Andy Greene told NHL.com. "We're not anywhere near the top right now, so these are huge points. It's important for us to try to pull away from some teams. We have teams that are right above us and a couple that are right below us. It's good to try to create some separation and obviously this is a great time with the home-and-home against Philly."

NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks and NHL Mobile name and logo, NHL GameCenter and Unlimited NHL are trademarks of the National Hockey League. NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams.